My Morning Mantra: Open Hearts, Curious Minds

As I was posting this in LinkedIn yesterday I began my post with, “’Tis the season for judgement and stress.” Woo-fricken-hoo. Who wants that ever? I got to thinking that judgement often leads to stress because many times when we judge someone else we’re really judging ourselves and then BAM we’re stressed because how do we fix it and, well, sh*t we don’t have time for that and #@*%^&!%(@#%&*!!!!!!!!! Stress often leads to judgement because when we’re in the rat race no one else can possibly do it as well or as fast as we can—BUT WE DON’T HAVE TIME!!! I can feel my body clenching—my teeth, my fists, my tush, and my brain! What if we made time? Time to create space so our hearts can open and allow our minds to ponder and be curious. Did you just feel yourself relax a little? I sure did!

Focus

Open Hearts, Curious Minds

This is going to be my morning mantra. Heck! It’s going to be my mantra all darn day through the end of the year and perhaps beyond! Laser focus is going to be the only way I create time and space for my open heart and curious mind. One thing, just one, so I have a chance at mitigating judgement and stress. What’s one thing you will do? Whatever it is make that your focus first thing in the morning and throughout the day. Create a new positive pattern that gives you hope and allows you to see the good in yourself and others. Negative self-talk is very damaging and then we often direct our nastiness outward to others and for what? This strategy is not a quick fix especially when it comes to other people, so laser focus is key. Hang in there and do it for yourself first and others will come along, or they won’t, and you can decide how to handle them.

Cheer

Open Hearts, Curious Minds

One of my friends who’s been in my life since middle school (a few decades) used to do something on the bus to tennis meets that cracked me up. She cheered herself on as she did her math homework. Brilliant! Who else is going to cheer you on for 2 hours of math homework? We talked about this last week and wondered why aren’t we cheering when we’re doing something tough now? Oh it’s ON! We are committed to be our own cheerleaders as we work through challenges. Tomorrow morning after I remember to voice my mantra of open hearts, curious minds I’m going to cheer, “Woohoo! You remembered, Bridget! Nice work-Keep it up!” It’s gonna be loud so get ready husband, pets and neighbors! Little efforts add up to big results and you might as well sing your praises as you achieve the little milestones. Who knows what it could lead to—you might recognize the little efforts in others and cheer them on too! Bonus: you might make people smile, even if it’s that “oh, bless your heart” kind of smile.

Brain Power

Open Hearts, Curious Minds

Brains are tricky things and sometimes our thoughts racing around in there don’t serve us well. According to Psychology Today, “As far as your brain, every thought releases brain chemicals. Being focused on negative thoughts effectively saps the brain of its positive forcefulness, slows it down, and can go as far as dimming your brain’s ability to function, even creating depression. On the flip side, thinking positive, happy, hopeful, optimistic, joyful thoughts decreases cortisol and produces serotonin, which creates a sense of well-being. This helps your brain function at peak capacity.” PEAK CAPACITY, PEOPLE! If we want ourselves, our employees, our coworkers, and our loved ones to kick-butt in all the best ways, we need to increase positivity. BOOM! If that didn’t open your heart and make you a little more curious, I don’t know what will.